Despite getting more money than last year from the state, as well as separate funding for several special projects, Framingham State University plans to increase student fees in the fall, the school said.

Several other state universities have been faced with a similar decision, after getting just slightly more than half the $15 million increase they had asked for in the fiscal 2015 state budget.

State Rep. Tom Sannicandro said the shortfall was partly due to the fact the state's colleges and universities are still finishing up collective bargaining with their staffs, an expected cost increase the budget doesn't account for. But he added he was disappointed the Legislature couldn't do more this year.

"We did well, but we should have done better, I believe," said the Ashland Democrat, who is co-chair of the Joint Committee on Higher Education. "Higher education really needs the money if Massachusetts is going to continue to be economically competitive."

Framingham State, whose board of trustees had voted in May to set fees for next year assuming the $8 million jump in aid, will charge students $240 more in tuition and fees next year as a result. Last year, the university was able to freeze prices at the prior year's rate after the state increased its contribution enough to cover half of each state school's budget.

"We were hoping to move a step closer to that 50/50 funding split" in the final state budget, said Dan Magazu, a spokesman for Framingham State. "But we do appreciate the thought and effort put into this budget. It certainly could have been worse."

At one point in the budget season, for instance, university officials worried the state Senate's spending plan could force the school to implement as high as a $560 fee increase. Framingham State also was the beneficiary of several separate funding items this year, including $400,000 for the university and MassBay Community College to open a new college planning center in Framingham.

Overall in the state, the funding picture for next year is "sort of bittersweet," said Ferd Wulkan, communications director for the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts. UMass Amherst, for instance, will be able to keep its tuition and fees at the same level for a second straight year, which is the first time the institution has ever had back-to-back freezes.

"But we were also disappointed - we really thought there was a tacit agreement (with state officials) the fee freeze would be put in place for at least two years" for the rest of the state's colleges and universities as well, Wulkan said.

Instead, PHENOM, whose main purpose is to advocate for financial support for the state's higher education system, said many of those schools, like Framingham State, will have to increase costs for their students next year.

MassBay, however, will not be raising fees, according to spokeswoman Nadia Fenton-Rahim.

Page 2 of 2 - There's still a chance the Legislature could approve a supplemental budget later in the year to give more money to institutions planning price increases, said state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland.

"I think (higher education) is a priority," Spilka said, adding she "would have liked to have provided enough money so tuition and fees would not have to be raised."

But she also pointed out the state is helping its public colleges and universities in other ways as well next year, particularly in MetroWest. MassBay, for instance, is getting $14 million to help create a new campus in downtown Framingham, while Framingham State will receive $150,000 to continue its popular subsidized internship program.

Scott O'Connell can be reached at 508-626-4449 or soconnell@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottOConnellMW